Marion County Drugs: More Potent, More Deadly - Page 2
- Indianapolis law enforcement warns of more dangerous illicit drugs, with a call to action to find and stop the source.
- Tony Katz argues the response must be aggressive, even considering a 'demilitarized zone' in Mexico to protect US territory.
- Katz says the priority is disrupting the supply chain, not just documenting the consequences on Indianapolis streets.
Marion County Drugs: More Potent, More Deadly
‘More potent, more deadly’: Tony Katz demands a harder answer as Indianapolis drug warning escalate. He says Indianapolis cannot afford to treat an increasingly lethal illicit drug supply like another grim public-safety bulletin and move on.
“This is a different conversation,” Katz said after Indianapolis law enforcement, federal drug officials and county leaders warned Monday that synthetic drugs are making the city’s street supply more potent, unpredictable and deadly. “Our question should be: From where are they coming, and what can we be doing to keep those out?”
The warning came from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the DEA, the Marion County Coroner’s Office and the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office. Deputy Chief Kendale Adams said Indianapolis is facing a “rapidly evolving and increasingly dangerous drug landscape,” with drugs more dangerous than ever.
That is not exactly a warning anyone wants to hear — especially in a city already wrestling with violent crime, overdoses and a revolving door of public frustration over whether its leaders are up to the job.
Katz was careful to separate the immediate drug threat from his broader criticism of local officials, including Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears. But he argued that identifying and cutting off the source of deadly synthetic drugs has to be the priority, not merely documenting the consequences once they hit Indianapolis streets.
“How do you cut off the supply? Hard thing to do,” Katz said. “How do you punish the origin?”
Katz pointed to the southern border and Mexican cartels as a possible route, arguing the United States should be willing to take far more aggressive action if traffickers are using Mexico as a staging ground. He floated the idea of establishing a demilitarized zone inside Mexico — initially suggesting 10 miles, then saying he would start with two — to protect U.S. territory from cartel operations.
“If we have to take 10 miles of their land to ensure that we’re safe, so be it,” Katz said, adding that the country has “a nation to protect” that is “not being protected.”
His point was broader than one border or one country. If the drugs are arriving through Canada, coastal routes or another pipeline, Katz said, the response should carry the same urgency: identify the source, disrupt it and make the cost of doing business unbearable.
Trying to battle every trafficking network everywhere at once, he argued, risks accomplishing little. But taking on one operation with “incredible efficiency and power” can send a message to the rest.
“When you threaten the nation’s dollars and safety, they know how to clamp down,” Katz said.
Indianapolis officials have issued the warning. The harder part now is ensuring it does not become one more statement filed away after the damage is already done.
Hear Tony Katz break it down live weekdays on WIBC 93.1 FM, or catch the full segment on-demand.
Listen to the “Marion County Drugs: More Potent, More Deadly” discussion in full here:
